SA passports could fall away
01/04/2008 11:11 - (SA)
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Pretoria - The South African passport could become a thing of the past, in terms of radical proposals to revamp Southern African Development Community (SADC) border controls.
Last week, SADC member states agreed to speed up the establishment of a single visa (Univisa) for tourists within the region.
According to sources, this is the first step of far-reaching proposals which will ultimately see the abolishment of border controls in the region - much like in the European Union - and the introduction of a new SADC passport.
And the proposals don't end there. A single SADC currency has been on the agenda at high-level member nation talks, but is unlikely to come into existence until all economies of the region achieve parity on specific economic targets.
"Wealthier SADC countries, like South Africa, are worried they will be dragged down by poorer countries such as Zimbabwe," said SADC spokesperson Jake Floos.
Fears of flow of migrants into SA
SADC ministers see the unification of the SADC countries into a powerful southern African economic and border bloc as an important objective for the future growth and development of the region. It will strengthen each country and its economy, boosting tourism and trade, and also give SADC countries more clout on the African continent and at the United Nations, if plans to give Africa a permanent Security Council seat come to fruition.
Concerns that it will allow an uncontrolled flow of economic migrants into South Africa - the wealthiest and most developed of the SADC countries - have been highlighted, but sources close to key negotiators say they are hoping the economic benefits will spread wealth across the region, resulting in citizens being less inclined to leave their countries, and return home if they already have.
South Africans could be the biggest losers from the new passport plans, as it would make getting visas for international travel more difficult. But with the country almost certain to lose its visa-free status to Britain anyway, officials say there won't be discernible change. "South Africans should rather see the benefits of being able to travel all over the SADC countries without needing to pack their passport," said Floos.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa was unavailable for comment on Monday, and other officials in the department were "too busy" watching the results of the Zimbabwean election trickle in.
SADC countries include Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
I sure as hell hope so.